A Massachusetts man known as the “Hamilton Strangler” has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of a college student nearly four decades after the crime.
Conviction and Sentencing
John Carey, 66, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1986 killing of Claire Gravel.
According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Carey was sentenced on April 9 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cold Case Breakthrough Through DNA
Prosecutors said the case was solved through advances in DNA testing. Evidence collected decades earlier was reexamined, and Carey’s DNA was identified on the black tank top used to strangle Gravel.
The breakthrough came after Carey’s DNA was entered into a national database following a separate conviction in 2008, eventually linking him to the long-unsolved murder.
Victim Remembered
Gravel was a 20-year-old student at Salem State University and worked at National Braille Press at the time of her death.
She was last seen returning home after visiting a pub in Salem before her body was discovered in a wooded area near Route 128 in Beverly. The case went cold for decades before investigators made the DNA connection.
Prosecutors Detail Motive
In court, Assistant District Attorney Kim Faitella said Carey killed Gravel to satisfy a sexual interest in strangulation.
The evidence presented at trial ultimately led to his conviction nearly 40 years after the crime.
Family Waits Decades for Justice
Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said Gravel’s family had waited decades for justice and praised investigators for their persistence.
At sentencing, Gravel’s siblings remembered her as a “ray of sunshine” with aspirations to study law, have a family, and travel widely.
Prior Conviction and Background
Carey had previously been convicted in a 2008 attempted murder case in which he strangled a woman in her home in Hamilton. The victim survived, and Carey was serving a 20-year sentence in that case at the time of his recent conviction.
The new sentence ensures he will remain in prison for the rest of his life.
